La Joya has 3.0 jobs for every working resident: 3,937 people commute in to work
4,216 jobs are based in La Joya; 1,423 of its residents have a job. For jobs and income La Joya is better than 27% of U.S. towns (C); for walkability it is more walkable than 16% of U.S. towns (C−). Household incomes here are lower than in 83% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: La Joya in brief
La Joya is where the jobs are
La Joya has 4,216 jobs, 3.0 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 8,100 people are in town, 53% more than the 5,300 who live here. Day and night ↓
Nearly all the work in La Joya is services
99% of the jobs based here are in services, such as health care, schools and offices. Only 0% are in factories, building or farms. The jobs ↓
The jobs in La Joya pay better than its residents’ jobs
61% of the jobs based in La Joya pay over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year), against 40% of the jobs La Joya residents hold. 93% of the jobs here are held by people who live outside La Joya. The jobs ↓
Commutes from La Joya are quick
The average trip to work takes 20 minutes, against 27 across Texas. That’s about 54 hours a year less on the road than the typical Texas worker. Time on the road ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
Jobs & income in La Joya: the grade in detail
Job access by car holds La Joya’s grade up (ahead of 68% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down (21.7%, U.S. 12.5%).
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, La Joya could be anywhere from D to A−.
The workday shuffle in and out of La Joya
On a workday 1,144 residents head out to work and 279 work right here.
About 8,100 people are in La Joya on a workday afternoon, 53% more than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Services make up most of the work in La Joya
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in La Joya, 2013 → 2023: 232 → 4,216. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs La Joya’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Commuting from La Joya: about 20 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of La Joya workers work from home, vs 14% across Texas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,601 commuters (the 11% who work from home are left out). Across Texas: 83% drive alone, 1% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
The daily trip into La Joya
Where La Joya clocks in
15% of workers
11% of workers
7% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Miles to work from La Joya
About 22% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
The commute in La Joya is mostly behind the wheel
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: hardly any commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 3.0% across Texas.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,801 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 10.1% of La Joya households have no vehicle (Texas 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of La Joya’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 3,582 U.S. towns of 3,700 to 7,100, La Joya comes 2,735th on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 6 | Taylor Lake Village TX | 3,774 | $166K | 0.0% | 0.6% | 1% | A+ |
| 7 | Haslet TX | 5,267 | $169K | 2.1% | 0.5% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 22 | Hickory Creek TX | 6,875 | $149K | 2.6% | 1.2% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,733 | Lansing NY | 3,814 | $72K | 23.6% | 5.4% | 6% | C |
| 2,734 | Jackson OH | 6,233 | $54K | 18.7% | 2.8% | 30% | C |
| 2,735 | La Joya TX | 5,257 | $54K | 21.7% | 4.9% | 20% | C |
| 2,736 | Manlius Township IL | 6,068 | $69K | 19.8% | 5.3% | 8% | C |
| 2,737 | Warren Township OH | 4,658 | $47K | 17.4% | 5.0% | 2% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 3,582 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of La Joya, the top three, the last and three more from Texas.
How La Joya compares with the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Penitas (2%).
Jobs & commute next door
Darker towns draw more of La Joya’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in La Joya: questions
What is the median household income in La Joya?
$53,526 (±$30,180) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $78,476 across Texas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in La Joya?
21.7%, against 13.8% across Texas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from La Joya?
20 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Texas and 26 nationally. 11% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in La Joya work?
20% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are McAllen (15%, 14 mi), Mission (11%, 10 mi), Edinburg (7%, 20 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is La Joya walkable?
La Joya is more walkable than 16% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 6.2 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around La Joya without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 10% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from La Joya, from the people who make the trip.
More of La Joya
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.